Of Snow, Rabbits, & Angels
by Kalen
Summary: Christmas-y fic...Mariemaia hates Christmas. Lady Une decides to drag her along on errands to change her mind.


A.C. 197, December 22

"Mariemaia?" Lady Une tapped the door, wondering at the silence. "Marie-chan, are you alright?"

The seven-year-old girl didn't answer. _Thirty seconds_, Lady Une told herself. _You don't know what could have happened…you _don't _have to get panicked every time she disappears to another section of the house…_

Concern overrode logic, and at eighteen seconds she opened the door and stepped in, stopping the moment she realized the carpet was wet and there were shards of glass amidst the moisture, along with pieces of white-plastic confetti, ceramic trees and a Santa Claus.

The remains of the snow globe's base were snapped in three, Mariemaia staring at them blankly, seated on her bed with her useless legs limp over the edge. A toy rabbit was clutched in her arms.

"Marie-chan," Lady Une sighed, "What happened?" The additional words 'this time' were kept silent. A few careful steps over the glass and water had her sitting at the child's side, patiently awaiting Mariemaia's answer. It didn't come.

Une picked up the stuffed rabbit, which Mariemaia gave up without resistance. She smoothed its worn brown fur and straightened the crooked ears before handing the toy back, watching with mild curiosity as Mariemaia held it tightly to herself, eyes still focused on the damp carpet. 

Mariemaia's answer came so softly and unbelievably Une thought she misheard it. "I hate Christmas."

"Surely you don't mean that." Lady Une was temporarily taken aback.

"Of course I do." Mariemaia looked up at her, a horrible sort of desperate sadness in her eyes, a look that didn't belong in a child barely eight years old. "That's what it all comes down to, doesn't it? My mother died on Christmas Day, you know…everything happens on the Day…everything bad. Tell me, did my father die on Christmas Eve or Day?"

Lady Une's breath shook as she replied to Mariemaia's question. "Your father died Christmas Day…five thirty one in the morning. A minute later I declared the surrender of the World Nation Forces."

"You see? It's true. Everything bad…" A tear slid down the redhead's cheek, brutally wiped away. "I mean it. I hate Christmas."

"It's merely a date, Mariemaia." Une reached down to pick up the dripping Santa Claus. "And he is merely fictitious." She held him up in the palm of her hand, shaking her head. "Merely a date."

"That's just it. Merely a date that marks the anniversary of everything that took away my life – and you can't say you didn't wake up thinking that almost two years ago my father and your commander died, on a Christmas Day so near now. It's a date with meaning."

"Not all Christmases are bad, dear. The last Christmas Day that passed, I found you. Doesn't that count as something good for it?"

"You forget it was also the day I was paralyzed. And how enjoyable was that day truly for you? Having to deal with a military attack, being berated by your superiors, an important official kidnapped and the Gundams returned? Don't say you weren't afraid of meeting me, the daughter of someone you loved by a mother that wasn't you."

"Marie-chan…the last part didn't matter to me then, nor does it now. And no, that day was not particularly enjoyable for me. I did not like having to deal with your terrorists, the President, the problem of Darlian kidnapped, nor the Gundams and their pilots reappearing. But I don't hate Christmas. Why should you?"

"Symbolism, okaasan." Mariemaia let the irony of both words hang in the air on a painful note. "Symbolism. We all need something to hate."

A moment of wordless contemplation was enough for Lady Une to make up her mind. "Get ready. We're going out."

+++

"Why are you doing this?" Mariemaia asked, irritation barely held in check. The stuffed rabbit was still in her lap, now held rather tightly in manifested anxiety towards her situation. "I don't like this, I want to go home."

"We will, eventually," Lady Une promised evenly. "I have some errands to run, and then we will."

"Why did you have to drag me along?" Mariemaia was already resigned to her fate, but still found reason to annoy. The maid had cleaned up the broken snow globe without question, no doubt by now accustomed to Mariemaia's occasional violent fits.

"Because."

She glanced up darkly at the woman she called 'okaasan,' giving up completely as Lady Une pushed her forward and into a small glassworks store.

"What are we here for?" Mariemaia queried, left hand toying with the ear of her rabbit. It had a hole in the silk lining, and the fur was ragged on the edge from too many restless nights spent holding it. Lady Une looked down almost disdainfully at the toy.

"You should really get another one of those, dear," she commented without a direct response to the original question. "It's all dirty."

"No," Mariemaia replied slowly, hugging the rabbit. "It's the only thing that came to me from my father that Grandfather let me keep."

Une shrugged, dropping the subject. It had been the first time Mariemaia told her that – although if she thought about it, she did remember idly suggesting to Treize that he try at least once more to send his daughter a present – three years prior. No wonder the poor rabbit was so worn.

"To answer your question, we're here to get Merquise and Noin their Christmas presents."

"I thought you said you finished your Christmas shopping." Mariemaia grimaced at all the red and green the shop was decorated with.

"I thought I had too. But as it turns out they did get leave to come back from the Mars base for about a week." Lady Une shook her head. "At least I still have two days, although that's not much."

"Hmph." She glanced around the store, examining the crystal items on clear shelves. Special filtered halogen lighting gave the illusion of warm sunlight, refracting back and forth through the delicately cut figurines. An odd feeling of a double consciousness reached the back of her mind, and she concentrated on it.

The feeling permeating the extra "mind" was comforting and strong. She frowned as she realized she didn't know what it was. At the moment, she was far from reaching that state of calm contentment. What was it?

"Mariemaia?" Lady Une asked, holding up a bag as she stood in front of her. "We're leaving."

"What?" Mariemaia looked up at her, confused. "It's only been a minute. How could you have finished that quickly?"

"We've been here twenty minutes, Marie-chan. I was surprised you hadn't complained." Une gave her a worried look. "Are you certain you're alright?"

"I'm fine, Mother." She rolled her eyes. "Perfectly fine."

+++

Une said a silent prayer to whatever god there was she laid the red rose on Treize's grave, blinking back tears as she turned to face Mariemaia.

"It's not Christmas yet, but close enough," she remarked quietly, understanding the passive, be-it-as-it-may look on Mariemaia's face.

"Two years, then." Mariemaia tipped her head curiously. "Do you think he's watching us?"

"I don't doubt it, Marie-chan." Lady Une smiled, hand unconsciously reaching to her wrist. "Oh, Christ, I lost it!" she said in surprise, to Mariemaia's bemusement.

"Lost what?"

"The bracelet your father gave me on Christmas…" She shook her head. "I probably dropped it somewhere; we should go speak to the groundskeeper."

"Can I stay here for a few minutes?" Mariemaia asked suddenly. "I can watch the bags."

"Sure." Lady Une was puzzled, but acquiesced. "I'll be back in five minutes, stay here."

Mariemaia turned around, studying the scenery. The trees, lush in spring and summer, had lost their leaves several months ago. Any grass, alive or dead, was covered by a thick blanket of ice and snow.

It was four-thirty, but apparently the sun was already going down. An odd red-like glow was reflecting over the snow. A moment later, though, an icy blast of wind ran through the cemetery, forcing Mariemaia to hide her face and hope she wouldn't fall over as the wind almost pushed her wheelchair off its center of balance.

The small rabbit she'd been holding was snatched out of her hands by the wind, light cotton body tossed about by the virtual gale. "Hey!" she called out in surprise, waiting until the wind stopped momentarily.

She pushed herself forward and down the short decline to find the toy, wondering at the abrupt cold. _I shouldn't move…Mother might not be able to find me_, Mariemaia thought, but decided it couldn't take her long to find the stuffed animal. Several minutes later, she realized the brown blur she had originally thought was the rabbit was actually a piece of wood, now waterlogged and frozen.

"Gods," she said out loud, if only to calm her nerves. "It's pretty much dark already. Where's Mother?"

The newly emerged shadows distorted her sense of direction, and she was left confused in a strange section of the cemetery she had never been in. It had been fifteen minutes since the toy had been blown out of her hands, and she was hopelessly lost. To make matters worse, the wind was intensifying, making it more difficult for her to move in the light aluminum wheelchair.

"Okaasan!" Mariemaia called out, her head turning around in a helpless effort to recognize something. "Okaasan, I'm lost…" The last phrase was said softly, more confused.

"Are you lost?" A voice asked, startling her. Her head turned quickly, slightly frightened. _I should have been able to hear him come up with this ice…_

"Y-yes, I am," she stammered. She couldn't see his face in the near-darkness, and could barely ascertain more than that the person was a twenty-odd, tall male in a uniform of unascertainable style.

"Follow me," he instructed, gesturing for her to tag along behind him. Slightly suspicious, but figuring her predicament couldn't possibly get much worse, she obeyed. He didn't seem like the criminal type, either – in fact, the oddly comforting emotion she had felt earlier in the glassworks shop was infused in the man's voice. Mariemaia decided she could trust him.

A sharp flint in the metal of the wheel caught in her hand as her arm slipped in its exhaustion, and she whipped it to her mouth on reflex. "Ow…" she commented, looking down perplexedly as the blood froze before it coagulated.

"Are you tired?" he questioned, not waiting for an answer before stepping behind her to push her forward.

"Arigatou," Mariemaia said, slightly uncomfortable. A moment later and she could see Lady Une walking around, calling her name.

"Your mother's there." He gestured to Lady Une and stepped backwards, at an angle where Mariemaia could no longer see him. "Give my beloved Lady best wishes."

"Um, sure, thanks for helping me…" she thanked him, but without looking back went to meet Une.

"Mariemaia!" Une sighed in relief. "Thank Kami you're okay…you are, right?"

"I'm fine, Mother." Mariemaia smiled; for once glad for her worry. "Someone helped me back."

"Who?" She looked mystified. "I didn't see anyone, we should thank them…"

"I don't know." Mariemaia shook her head. "He kind of disappeared…before he left he said, 'give my beloved Lady best wishes.'"

"No, it couldn't be…" Lady Une whispered in disbelief. "It couldn't."

"Couldn't be what?"

"Nothing, Marie-chan." She dismissed the girl's concerns with a falsified nonchalance. "Nothing…let's just go home now."

+++

December 24, 11:30 p.m.

"Thank you, Mother." Mariemaia smiled, setting the book down next to her on the floor. She hugged the older woman, despite the awkward position. "I'll start reading it tomorrow morning."

"You're welcome." Lady Une turned around, setting the box beneath the small tree. She had been the only one who wanted to deal with something that festive, so it was small. Mariemaia offered to help, but she declined. "Do you still hate Christmas, Marie-chan? Or has this peaceful one changed your mind?"

Mariemaia shook her head. "No, I haven't changed my mind. We haven't seen Christmas Day yet." Une shrugged.

"I have another present to give you, but let's wait until Christmas Day, shall we? Then you'll see."

"Alright." She gave her mother a curious look, knowing the enigmatic conclusion was intentional. "I'm really glad you were able to get away from most your work today…I can't believe they wanted to schedule the minor summit _today_."

"I know." Lady Une rolled her eyes. "Although, apparently several others had problems with it as well. The schedulers seem to fail to take into account these people have families – even I do."

"Hmm." Mariemaia fingered a ribbon one of the boxes had been wrapped with. "I had been intending to give you a different gift, but I don't suppose it would be much use to you now. Could you get it, please? It's in the black bag I brought with me the other day."

She nodded and rose, returning in a few moments with the small knapsack, handing it to her as she sat down next to her on the floor. "I wasn't sure if I should have bought a replacement for that rabbit you lost – you did like it, ne?"

"Of course I did, okaasan." Mariemaia smirked as she opened the bag. "It was cute, and not like the one I lost, which was good. Chotto, did you put these other two boxes in here?"

"No, dear, you know I never touch your stuff." Une reached over to accept the box Mariemaia was handing her, commenting before reading the tag, "It might be the wrong bag…"

"It isn't." Mariemaia held it up in confusion. "It's mine, and the packages are addressed to us…and it says open midnight Christmas Eve. The handwriting is barely legible."

"It's just script, Marie-chan…" _Far too familiar script…_

"When's midnight?" The redheaded child asked, eager to open it.

"Ah…fifteen minutes from now. We don't have to wait, although seeing as they're strange packages in a knapsack you dropped in a cemetery I'd suggest not opening them at all."

"You don't have to be that paranoid. If they were bombs they would have detonated with all the times I dropped this thing." Mariemaia turned her medium-sized box over in her hand, curiosity egging at her.

Fifteen minutes later, Une reluctantly nodded at her to open the box. She opened it eagerly, surprised to pull out a stuffed rabbit – in every way identical to her lost one, without all the damaged fur and pulled seams.

"I think this is the same rabbit…it still has the torn ribbon, with a new funny necklace-thing on it. But everything else is fixed." Mariemaia looked up at Lady Une, asking for an answer she couldn't give. "Open yours."

A silver bracelet indistinguishable to the one lost in the cemetery with an extra charm lay in the box. The charm was, quite fittingly, an angel trinket, with a diamond chip for a head. "Just like the one I lost…but no, it still can't be."

"_What_ can't be?" Mariemaia demanded, exasperated. "There has to be some explanation."

"This sounds ridiculous." Lady Une sighed, eyes focusing on the ceiling for a moment before answering. "When you told me what that stranger said…'beloved Lady,' and all…it reminded me of what your father used to call me. And these presents, both returned repaired…they were gifts from Treize-sama originally…but that's impossible. Only he would have known."

"Maybe it was he." Mariemaia tipped her head to the side. "It's not _entirely_ impossible. At least now you can use the gift I got you – a bracelet charm." She paused and made a funny face. "Oddly enough, it's a Christmas tree."

Lady Une shook her head in amusement, saying, "Thank you, Mariemaia." A rattling from the side served as an abrupt reminder of Mariemaia's other gift. "Oh, I almost forgot…" Une rose and pulled a light sheet off a cubed item in the corner, revealing a wire cage with a brown rabbit in it – a live one. She opened the cage and pulled the rabbit out, cradling it gently and bringing it to its new owner. "This is your Christmas present, Marie-chan."

"Oh, thank you!" Mariemaia almost squealed, petting the rabbit with curiosity and happiness in her eyes. "I love it."

Une smiled, glad to see her pleased. "Glad you like it. What are you going to name her?"

"Hn…" She paused to consider. "You don't mind if I name her Lady, do you?"

"Well, I'm not so sure how I feel about having a rabbit named after me, but she's your gift." Lady Une smirked. "It's Christmas Day. How do you feel about it now?"

"Twenty-three more hours, okaasan. Twenty-three."

Watching, Treize Khushrenada smiled. The angel knew everything would be alright.


End file.
